The Change Mariner

Hamburg's respite for shop-weary men: hubby day care

CS Monitor

The drop-off, unlike in most kindergartens, is quick and sob-free.
Soon after Karin von Huson kisses him goodbye, Jonny, his name written on a sticker stuck on his chest, settles into a plush couch with his friend Günter. The two nip at the drinks on the table in front of them and leaf through a pile of magazines - their wives happily off to shop in downtown Hamburg.

Welcome to Männergarten, Germany's first day care for men wanting to avoid hours in department-store dressing rooms and checkout lines. The brainchild of the Nox Bar in the heart of Hamburg's shopping district, the Saturday event provides two drinks, lunch, TV sports, and male bonding, all for just 10 euros ($11.81).

"It's a great idea," says Ms. von Huson, before rushing off with her friend. "It gives us time to ourselves, where we can talk and think in quiet."

Since its debut last month, Männergarten has welcomed as many as 30 men into the back section of the bar, says manager Alexander Stein.

Behind a velvet rope, Mr. Stein has set up a sort of big-boy's playroom. Board games are stacked on ottomans in front of large couches, men's magazines cover the coffee tables, and two fish tanks built into the wall of the upscale bar emit a soothing glow.

On a recent Saturday, a playpen set up by a toy company as a promotion was put to use by a camera team that wasted no time coaxing men into the pen for the perfect shot.

Not a Saturday has gone by, in fact, in which reporters - whether from the local rag or from French television - crowd into the back room, hovering boom mikes over a card game in progress, or asking participants to play with a remote-controlled car while the photographers shoot away.

Posted by Norm M. Wada at October 28, 2003 11:40 PM | TrackBack
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